Snow Angels
by Marie Anastasia
Summary: After a tough case, Lisbon heads outside and finds a surprise waiting for her in the form of a slushy, wet ball of snow. JISBON! May be a bit OOC, but honestly, what Jisbon story isn't? Review please! They make my day! -Marie


Snow Angels

As she walked out of the CBI building, Lisbon's mind drifted to the case they had just closed. The ones that involved children were always the hardest. The little boy had been nearly beaten to death by his father in a drunken rage. The case hit close to home and she remembered how her father had taken his own life and nearly killed her and her two brothers. She sighed. It would be a long night. She had vowed never to get involved with someone who drank, and she had kept to that promise. She took a step out of the cover of the overhang and felt something crunch under her foot. Surprised, she looked down and saw that the ground was covered in a light layer of fluffy snow. She gasped. Snow in California? Even in the middle of winter, snow was a serious rarity. She had just barely convinced herself she was hallucinating when she felt the light snow hit her face gently. She stuck her tongue out to catch one of the flakes and felt one quickly melt. She sighed again and started towards her car. Suddenly, she felt something hard and wet hit her square on her back. She froze and spun on her heel, nearly slipping on the ice. Standing about fifteen feet away was Jane. She glared at him.

"Jane…" She said warningly, but he hurled another snowball anyway and hit her in the stomach. She had to admit, the charming, handsome consultant was a good shot. She started to turn around but heard him laughing and her competitive side kicked in. He couldn't win this, and she wouldn't let him. Bending down quickly, she scooped up a handful of the slushy mix and packed it into a tight ball. She launched it at his head and smirked when she heard the satisfying thud and saw his golden blonde curls darken from the sudden moisture. He dramatically fell back with a hand to his head.

"Abuse!" he shouted. Lisbon rolled her eyes.

"Drama queen!" she shouted back. Realizing that he was still on the ground, she crept forward slowly with another snowball poised and ready to throw. Sneaking toward his head, she was about to hurl the snow at him when one of his own smacked her directly in the face. Blinking snow from her eyes, she snarled,

"This means war." Jane smirked and wisely jumped up and away from her. He had recognized the fierce look in her eyes and knew he had finally baited her into playing with him. Ah, sweet success. Lisbon still had the snowball in her hand as she slowly advanced towards Jane. He saw his car out of the corner of his eye and was about to duck for it when he backed into the bumper of another. He gulped as he saw the snowball heading directly for his face. He ducked, but not fast enough and it hit him square on the forehead. Lisbon started cackling as she took in the sight. Most of the snow had dropped off, but some stayed on making it look like he had a third eye. Slightly confused, Jane creased his forehead and some of the melted slush dripped into his eyes. He caught on and started laughing with Lisbon, wiping the snow from his eyes and head. Then, without any warning at all, he jumped at her and started tickling her. Knowing that she could easily force him to the ground if he didn't have an advantage, as he had seen her do with men three times her size, he tickled her ribs and forced her to back into another car. She suddenly froze, and Jane realized how close they had come. His hands rested at her waist and her hands were at his chest trying to ward him off. A pink flush spread across her cheekbones, and she looked down nervously. Jane, never the one for tense situations, though he didn't find this one unpleasant, exactly, used her discomfort to grab a handful of snow from the hood of then van and smash it into her face. She gasped at the sudden icy contact and glared at him. The air was suddenly flying with white fluff as each one tried to best the other. Finally, after a well-placed throw from Lisbon, Jane raised his hands in surrender.

"Mercy!" he cried, smiling brightly. "Mercy, I beg of you." Only then did Lisbon see how red his hands were. She felt bad as she looked at her warm, gloved hands. She had never even noticed that he didn't have a pair on. She went up to him and took off her gloves. They would probably never fit, but she hoped would help a little. The frigid air hit her now bare hands and she rubbed them together. Not escaping Jane's notice, he vehemently refused the gloves.

"No, Lisbon. You'll freeze. Besides, your hands are tiny, and your gloves would never fit me." Feeling put out by his condescending voice, she nearly shoved the gloves onto his frozen hands. Shocked by the temperature, she couldn't resist holding one for a few seconds, trying to get it warm. Suddenly, she felt herself falling as he pulled them both down to the ground. She sat up immediately and glowered at Jane.

"What are you doing?" She snapped. He smiled up at her.

"Why, my dear, I think that is completely obvious. We are making snow angels." And sure enough, he was moving his arms and legs to make an angel. He had closed his eyes and Lisbon saw the relaxed, truly happy look she almost never got to see.

"Jane, we are in the middle of the CBI parking lot. Anyone could by watching!" Jane, as she knew he would be, was completely unaffected by that fact.

"Now, Lisbon, since when did you ever care what anybody else thought? You are a woman in a man's field, and you don't let that bother you. Plus, you are a fantastic boss." His praise made her cheeks flush for a minute.

"Still, it's 10:30 at night and the lights are still on, and I'm getting soaked. Again, he looked unperturbed.

"Come on, Lisbon. You know you want to. Just lay back and relax. I'm sure you've done this before." She could feel herself giving in.

"Oh, come on Jane. Do I have to?" He smirked, sensing her defeat.

"Absolutely." Groaning, she lay back down and quickly moved her arms and legs up and down to create the image. She let herself relax, and somehow, her hand found Jane's.

"Tough case. Reminds you of your father," he murmured softly. She swallowed.

"Yeah." With anyone else, she probably would have shot them for intruding on something so personal, but Jane always knew everything, and she gave him a little leniency on the topic. The tense mood returned, but not with it's full strength.

"You'll be okay," he said gently. She nodded, not trusting her voice. But Jane had never been wrong before, and she trusted him now too. She started to get up, but was afraid of wrecking the angel on the ground. Jane had already gotten up, somehow without destroying his own snow angel and gave her a hand. She backed up so she could see both angels and smiled. Jane was right. It hadn't been that bad. Then, he spoke so quietly, she almost missed it.

"My daughter and I used to make snow angels." She saw something sparkle in the pale moonlight on his cheek. With a start, she realized he was crying. She carefully wrapped an arm around his waist, not wanting to push him too far.

"I'm sorry, Jane. You'll be okay…" She had no idea what to say. What do you say to someone who saw his child and wife dead on the ground in a pool of their own blood. So she said, in her mind, the stupidest thing possible. "You'll move on." She immediately winced at how callous she sounded and looked apologetically at him. "Sorry. That was harsh." She hoped she hadn't crossed a line when he looked down at her and smiled. Completely ignoring her discomfort, he replied,

"Patrick. At work, you're Lisbon and I'm Jane. Outside of work, you're Teresa and I'm Patrick." Surprised by his honesty, she struggled to push past the boundaries that she herself had set.

"Alright… Patrick." Saying his given name made her smile and she leaned her head against his shoulder. Anybody walking by would assume they were husband and wife, out on a walk on a snowy night, not two damaged co-workers finding solace in each other. Interrupting the silence, Jane cleared his throat and started to head back to his car.

"Wait, Ja—Patrick." He paused for a minute and turned back.

"Yes, Teresa?" he asked, smirking very slightly. Acting on a sudden whim, she leaned up on her toes and gently brushed her lips to his. Pulling away, she carefully watched his face to see if he was upset with her and finally crossed a boundary. Instead, to her amazement, he smiled and pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Thank you," he whispered into her hair. Surprised, she leaned back to look at his dark blue eyes.

"For what?" she asked, puzzled.

"For helping me move on." And with those words, he brought his lips back to hers.


End file.
